'X-Men: First Class' & 'Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes' Sequels Set For Summer 2014; 'Independence Day 3D' Hits July 3, 2013

By
Edward Davis
|
The PlaylistMay 31, 2012 at 3:57PM

Ironically, some of us were just having this conversation this morning. Would 20th Century Fox rush its "X-Men: First Class" sequel into production like they did in 2010 for its 2011 release (there was about an eight-month window to shoot and edit the picture and the film suffered because of it, but miraculously wasn't a total disaster)? The answer, thankfully, is no. Fox has set July 18, 2014 as the release date for their untitled sequel to "X-Men: First Class." Original director Matthew Vaughn will be on board once again with all of the original cast, including Micheal Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult and many more (they all signed multi-picture deals after all). That should give them plenty of time to write a proper screenplay and not a mediocre one that the cast has to elevate (which was the case with the original).

Ironically, some of us were just having this conversation this morning. Would 20th Century Fox rush its "X-Men: First Class" sequel into production like they did in 2010 for its 2011 release (there was about an eight-month window to shoot and edit the picture and the film suffered because of it, but miraculously wasn't a total disaster)? The answer, thankfully, is no. Fox has set July 18, 2014 as the release date for their untitled sequel to "X-Men: First Class." Original director Matthew Vaughn will be on board once again with all of the original cast, including Micheal Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult and many more (they all signed multi-picture deals after all). That should give them plenty of time to write a proper screenplay and not a mediocre one that the cast has to elevate (which was the case with the original).

Fox has also set the release date of their "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" sequel. Titled, "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," the sequel will also be helmed by its original director, Rupert Wyatt, and it will land in theaters on Memorial Day, May 23, 2014. A bold and big move, but considering 'Rise' grossed $483 million worldwide and the buzz wasn't entirely great leading up to the picture, clearly Fox believes they can do bigger and better (and most Playlisters will tell you they were ready to write that film off and then were all impressed by its emotional resonance in the end).

But if you want to fly your blockbuster flag and be patriotic all in one fell swoop, well get ready because Roland Emmerich's "Independence Day" is getting a 3D makeover in time for a July 3, 2013 release. BOOM! Will Smith and Jeff Goldlbum will be chasing aliens all over the place once again. We like this movie well enough, but a 3D conversion? Pass.

Also dated: Steven Spielberg's "Robopocalyse" on April 25, 2014; "The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty" starring director and lead Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig for Christmas 2013; "Bridesmaids" director Paul Feig's untitled comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy for April 5, 2013; and "Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters" for August 16, 2013.[BOM]